1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic transaction apparatus for automatically depositing/withdrawing banknotes and/or coins at financial facilities such as a bank by a customer's operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the following types of automatic transaction apparatuses have been developed as automatic teller machines and have been introduced in financial facilities such as banks to provide quick services to customers (or users): (1) a cash dispenser for automatically dispensing cash equivalent to the amount of withdrawal requested by a customer, wherein a customer's card is inserted in the cash dispenser and on-line communication is carried out with a host computer (central facilities); (2) a cash dispenser for automatically dispensing an amount of cash equivalent to the amount of withdrawal requested by a customer, wherein a customer's bankbook is inserted in the cash dispenser and on-line communication is carried out with a host computer; and (3) an automatic depositing/withdrawing apparatus for automatically receiving and dispensing cash by using a bankbook.
In a typical transaction apparatus, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,268, a plurality of detachable cash cassettes are provided and banknotes of a predetermined amount are pulled out from the cash cassettes in accordance with a customer's operation, those banknotes being dispensed to the customer. Received banknotes are stored in the cash cassettes.
The number of banknotes in the cash cassettes decreases as the number of transactions increases. If the number of banknotes decreases below a predetermined value, it is necessary to replenish banknotes in the cash cassettes. In this case, the cash cassettes need to be detached from a safe unit and the operation of the automatic transaction apparatus must be suspended each time the cash cassettes are detached. Consequently, the operation efficiency of the apparatus is degraded and the operability is deteriorated.